Saturday night’s game in Vancouver against the Canucks was an early season opportunity for the Oilers to show on Hockey Night in Canada that this is a new team. A team poised ready to make the next step and become a playoff team. The game did not leave that impression on Canada or the rest of the NHL.

The Obvious Stuff

It is very early in this NHL season. The Oilers are playing without their two top centers, and as a result they’re pretty green. Mark Arcobello played his third game as an NHL center Saturday, Will Acton his second and Taylor Hall his second this season after briefly playing the position as a rookie. That’s not a lot of experience down the middle for the Oil.

It was obvious Saturday that those three were not ready for the challenge of taking on two of the top centers in the NHL. Henrik Sedin and Ryan Kesler are very, very good centermen. I don't care if you hate them, you have to respect their ability. Kesler was the best player of the ice. The young Oilers centers will have learned a lot from the game and matching up with those two.

So far this season Dubnyk hasn't played the way he would have wanted. The two long bombs and a couple of weaker goals have gotten him off to a questionable start. To me he looks like he is pressing and not relaxed between the pipes. I think he will get into a groove. He is a solid goalie. Two rough appearances to start this season are not making me think the Oilers should run out and make a move for a goalie. That being said I would give him the night off against the Devils. Let him and goalie coach Fred Chabot clean up a few issues. He will be ready mentally and physically for the game versus the Habs on Thursday.

The centers and the goaltending are the obvious issues. On both post games shows so far I have done these have been hot button topics. They have been issues but I see two areas the Oilers can clear up quickly and they don't involve either the centers or the goalies.

The Less Obvious Stuff

It was obvious this off season that general manager Craig MacTavish wanted a puck-moving group of defensemen. He wanted d-men that would get back quickly to the puck and pass it up to the swift skating group of forwards the Oilers have. It makes sense in theory; it’s better to play in the neutral and offensive zones rather than in your own end. But last night I saw the problem.

As a group the d-men were far too passive in their own zone. A defenceman's first responsibility is to play defence. Far too often last night the ‘D’ were not being aggressive and taking the puck-carrying forward of the Canucks into the wall. Eliminating or pinning the puck carrier in the defensive zone should be job one for this group. It looked to me like they were following this player around, water-skiing or just containing. That doesn't work.

I know some forwards are big and maybe the strength isn't there to man handle the guy. I get it. But then you better figure out a different approach that works. Duncan Keith isn't a giant but he is great at playing angles, using his stick and taking away time and space. These are skills the smaller guys will have to perfect. The Oilers spent too much time in their own zone; it is the job of the ‘D’ to snub out the opposition’s forecheck.

When the d-men did either pin the Canuck forward to the wall or take the puck away, too often the strong side winger was not ready for the pass. When under pressure the d-man will not always be able to make the perfect pass. The winger must be ready to not only handle the pass but make a play with it.

The winger must get his ass on the wall and stick in the middle to show a target. He cannot take his time getting into position. The defenceman has a split second to make a play, he cannot wait for the winger to slowly get into position. Once the pass is made the winger must make a strong play. Most likely the opposition blueliner will pinch down to pressure him. He MUST get the puck out. This is not a situation where fifty/fifty is good enough.

The winger has to get the puck out. He can chip it out or reverse pinch on the defence. It doesn't matter how - what does matter is that is gets done. Early in the game on the road or when the opposition has the full court press on the pressure is relieved by that puck getting out.

There is no doubt that Dubnyk has to be better and that the inexperience at center has been hard on the Oilers. Those are easy fixes. The work on the wall by the wingers and in zone play by the D are two areas that need to be cleaned up. These are habits that playoffs teams have.

If I am Eakins I crack out the old VCR today. I show specific examples of guys not getting the job done Saturday night. You don't do it to embarrass players; you do it so they see with their own eyes what they are missing.

BATTLE OF THE BLADES

I am back at it tonight. Second round of Battle of the Blades. You wouldn't believe the amount of work that makes one routine go. I am really enjoying it and proud to be skating for my charity Inner City Children's Program. You can check it out at iccp.ca or follow them on twitter and @iccpinfo

Jason hosts the Jason Strudwick show from 9pm to 12am, weeknights on the team 1260. He is an instructor at Mount Carmel Hockey Academy and loves working with the kids. Having played over 650 games in the NHL, Jason has some great stories and unique takes on life in the NHL. He loves Slurpees and Blizzards. Dislikes baggy clothes and close talkers.

When Dubnyk is in goal, the team plays with less confidence & grips their sticks a little harder! When Labarbera came in & after a skirmish in front of the net in which he controlled the rebound & killed play, it was interesting to see Hemmer skate by him & slap his pads! If Dubnyk could consistently make the routine plays good NHL goalies make we wouldn't be talking so much about him, but he doesn't & it hurts his team a lot!

Let face it the whole team is in disarray, they suck, have sucked and continue to suck in performance. They dont even deserve to play at the NHL level.
Goal tending ??? Is embarrassing , saves that should be stopped when you get paid to play at this level, professionally. Period.... My Grandmother could do better

What needs to be done:

1. kevin lowe - GONE!!! no question is accountable for how many years of disappointment.
2. Goalie - trade for quality performance
3. Stock the defense - trade for performance even if we have to give up offence for it!
4. If you cant play like an NHLer sit down and let others, even rookies show how its done.
(ie hemsky)... lets see how much they are worth when nobody sees them play!
5. teach defense to all players ( after all the best offence is the best defense )

Fist... Presumably the exact opposite of where the Oilers may find themselves in the standings if they don't fix a few gaping holes! I'm hoping they do something about Dubnyk to begin with, in my opinion he really isn't a NHL starter. And it also seems to be quite a few others opinion as well. Addressing a week Center and backend position(s) is also a primary objective I would assume. It just doesn't look as if there's enough substance there.

WOW!!! Did you bump your head or something???"his best player was out of position?" I'm assuming your talking about Taylor Hall??? If you think he's eakin's best player you obviously have not seen the past 2 games!!! For the record watching the Oilers play this caliber of hockey is getting old!! And I DO follow other sports!!

Oilers recalled Brandon Davidson today. Weird. I can't see him playing up with the Oilers yet.

No more call ups, drafts or trades for players unless they are 6'3" or bigger, 220lbs or heavier and bad competitive bad a$$es!!! Let's start trading, cutting, running out of town the stick checking fairies and DAFODILS that know make up at least half this Gutless team!!! ENOUGH is ENOUGH!!!

Jason, your comments about Dubnyk proves to me that you are a complete oilers puppet. Dubnyk is horrible, has been for a long time now, and the oilers do need to go out and find a true # 1. They also need to play the back up until they do so. At least he can stop the critical shots. You saying that Dubs is a solid goalie is truly laughable. C'mon man

Why play every shift like it's your last, when you're your team has confirmed what you're worth without ever having to do that? It's a little late to hope for better after they're locked in pulling down 6 mill per for the next half dozen years. This losing was our best option management (the last 4 yrs) style is really biting them in the arse now.

Lowe knows how to wreck things, but he's shown he knows diddly squat about rebuilding a team. Good thing Lowe had hall of Fame team mates to put those six rings on his fingers.

it's beginning to get a little nauseating reading these comments. There used to be constructive debate and interesting insight, but now it's (for the most part) the same pessimistic commenters posting re-worded versions of the crap they've commented on every other article for the past 3 months.

Eakins is a new coach. His best player was out of position. He was missing his top 2 centers. Dubnyk is inexplicably playing worse than last year. We're two games in. Shut up with the negative crap, it's getting old. Come back if we're half a season in and in last place. Otherwise, go follow another sport.

Man, am I tired of hearing Smid, and Hall, and the latest coach, and whoever, say over and over "that performance was unacceptable." So for Gawd's sake stop accepting it! Just once I'd like to hear one of those teenage millionaires say, "man, that performance was unacceptable, so I simply can't accept the $75,000 that they were contracted to pay me. I have asked the team to donate my pay to a charity of their choice, and resolve to never be unacceptable again."

And to Mr. Katz, and Kevin Lowe, cackling away as you count your money and reassure yourselves that Oiler fans are patient and loyal and fanatical enough to accept this product year after year, let me say this: If you had told me in the early 1980's, when the Edmonton Eskimos were selling out Commonwealth Stadium year after year, routinely drawing over 55,000 fans, winning championships and epitomizing class; if you had told me that in 2013, after a decade of stupidity, ineptitude, incompetence, cronyism, and apathy that that same team couldn't draw 15,000 on a glorious autumn afternoon, and that people in this city just couldn't care anymore and would rather do yardwork than force themselves to watch that team bumble to another humiliation; well, I would have told you at the time that would be pretty hard to imagine.

And its true, we are Edmonton Oiler fans. We are patient. And loyal. And fanatical. But tuning you out and just not caring anymore? It's not as hard to imagine as it used to be.

Man, am I tired of hearing Smid, and Hall, and the latest coach, and whoever, say over and over "that performance was unacceptable." So for Gawd's sake stop accepting it! Just once I'd like to hear one of those teenage millionaires say, "man, that performance was unacceptable, so I simply can't accept the $75,000 that they were contracted to pay me. I have asked the team to donate my pay to a charity of their choice, and resolve to never be unacceptable again."

And to Mr. Katz, and Kevin Lowe, cackling away as you count your money and reassure yourselves that Oiler fans are patient and loyal and fanatical enough to accept this product year after year, let me say this: If you had told me in the early 1980's, when the Edmonton Eskimos were selling out Commonwealth Stadium year after year, routinely drawing over 55,000 fans, winning championships and epitomizing class; if you had told me that in 2013, after a decade of stupidity, ineptitude, incompetence, cronyism, and apathy that that same team couldn't draw 15,000 on a glorious autumn afternoon, and that people in this city just couldn't care anymore and would rather do yardwork than force themselves to watch that team bumble to another humiliation; well, I would have told you at the time that would be pretty hard to imagine.

And its true, we are Edmonton Oiler fans. We are patient. And loyal. And fanatical. But tuning you out and just not caring anymore? It's not as hard to imagine as it used to be.

I wonder if all the comments MacT made about Dubnyk this summer got into Dubnyk's head. Goalies are a quirky bunch.

Is anyone really surprised this team has sucked out the gate? MacT stubbornly refused to address depth issues at centre. He loaded up on ahl players instead on NHL players at forward, and his answers to the team's defensive woes all came with question marks. Then he added a rookie coach to the mix.

I honestly didn't expect the playoffs anytime in the last 7 years like I do this year. And IF they get in, I'll assume they'll just sneak in. If they don't make it this year, it's not the end of the world. They main part of the core is under 22 years old! I'm frustrated, but I think there's quite a few of you that need to settle down, step away from the bridge and learn how to relax.

No one seriously thinks labarbera is good enough to be a starting NHL goalie. Putting him in in the next game would be a mistake - what is he loses - putting the team at 0-3 and having dubnyk return after yet another vote of no confidence.

MacT and his enablers (many if whom comment on this site) threw in with dubnyk a long time ago. The entire season hangs in the balance on that decision.

Wow, the haters are really poppin off today! Lets see how they do on Monday with some help. Tighter goaltending will really help as well till Dub gets his poop together. Remember, were Oiler fans not canuck fans who constantly trash their team whether they are winning or not. I think Mac T and Eakins know what they are doing and will get it settled. If not, we get another high pick... That was for the Haters.

Would you guys all take a deep breath and relax. Its game #2 new coach new players new systems same bad habits. Did you really think it was all going to change over night. Now Eakins knows what he has to work with and he can start benching guys. Other than the first line who were -10 the other guys played Ok. It’s tough to blame the goal tender when your out shot 22 to 8 in the first period. Dubnyk was probably having nightmares when he let in the soft goal. If it wasn't for him it could of been 5 1 after 1. Now we can give up on the Hall experiment at center. He never was and never will be a center man.

After only one week, the Oil are two weeks away from catching up to the Flames.

Haha those dumb flames. They can't do anything right. Don't they know the only way to be a constant contender for Stanley is to finish last for 5 years straight, draft a slew of small fast wingers with no character that only give a full effort when there is no chance that the opposition plays rough? The flames are terrible at a Lowe-style rebuild. Haha flames, they don't even show proper respect to all their former players by giving them a job-for-life.

I wonder if all the comments MacT made about Dubnyk this summer got into Dubnyk's head. Goalies are a quirky bunch.

Is anyone really surprised this team has sucked out the gate? MacT stubbornly refused to address depth issues at centre. He loaded up on ahl players instead on NHL players at forward, and his answers to the team's defensive woes all came with question marks. Then he added a rookie coach to the mix.

With 80 games to go and only 3 points out of a playoff spot Oilers start getting their players back for the long drive . This despite blowing a game they should have won against the Jets . Tomorrow starts our first long winning streak ,right ON fans .

Eakins should make Dubby watch the game he just played...........exactly when did "dropping and flopping", on every shot become a part of Dubby's game.

This reminds me of Tommy Salo.......the king of drop and flop! Stand up Dubby and play your angles. The idea of pucks deflecting causing goals is laughable. If you watch these re-plays Dubby is on the ice before the puck is even shot!

Where is the goaltender coach during the game??

Bill Ranford was the king of drop and flop. Nobody else will evercome close.

someone want to let me know why smyth plays...he is such a liabilitu on the ice. I used to have the upmost respect for him but the game has changes alot since he was a rookie...he no longer fits in.....he dosnt block shots, hes always a step behind....its disappointing to watch....fans paying thousands to watch and they play someone like smyth....the oilers will not win games till smyth is out of the line up....

Relax people , by the end of October the Oilers might be out of the playoff race. How does Frederick Chabot still have a goalie coach job? Devan it has been nice having you here, unfortunately your contract is up after this year. That is if you last that long. The guy is 6ft6 and flops all over the ice Maybe try being a stand up goalie. Not rocket science. Go A'S Go

Its almost laughable how mad the Oilers fan base is right now. I'm not sure what everyone expected?? They turn over half the team, hire a new coach every year, start the season with one NHL centerman and use a mediocre goalie as their starter. Does any of that sound like a playoff team?

2 games in, big deal. If they still look this bad after 10 games then its really panic time.

I'm expecting a solid effort tonight. Every member of the oilers organization should be embarrassed after saturday night. I was pretty embarrassed about that game and I was only watching it......

We were fed the line that Dubs was our starting goalie last year...He sucked. This year more of the same with a sub par backup. Time to let the two goalies and goaltending coach go and go fishing. What will it take? Who's out there? Maybe Mikka would do us a solid after stoning us for so many years...I'd pay to watch that.

Let face it the whole team is in disarray, they suck, have sucked and continue to suck in performance. They dont even deserve to play at the NHL level.
Goal tending ??? Is embarrassing , saves that should be stopped when you get paid to play at this level, professionally. Period.... My Grandmother could do better

What needs to be done:

1. kevin lowe - GONE!!! no question is accountable for how many years of disappointment.
2. Goalie - trade for quality performance
3. Stock the defense - trade for performance even if we have to give up offence for it!
4. If you cant play like an NHLer sit down and let others, even rookies show how its done.
(ie hemsky)... lets see how much they are worth when nobody sees them play!
5. teach defense to all players ( after all the best offence is the best defense )

more later

How have you not been hired by an NHL team to run their entire organization yet? Your comments are so apt, knowledgeable and well-articulated. Teach defence to ALL players?? Man, what a notion...I think you have some groundbreaking stuff right there. I bet Eakins would love to hear about your philosophy. In fact, maybe even the Olympic team would like to know more about the idea of teaching professional players how to play defence....

So there is a coach, with real NHL experience available now. Will the Oilers pull the pin on Eakins after tonights loss? They should. It only took Philly three games. And immediately name Laviolette as coach.
We need a coach with some experience. We need a goalie too!! Having a Jr. B goalie will get us nowhere...fast!!

Same Old, Same Old...yes that sounds right, exactly my thoughts while watching the game. Last year I started tracking Own Zone Turnovers (OZTs)which is a loss of possession in your own defensive end when the defensive team has possession. It did look like "Old Times" as you and the other commentors stated. Here are the stats for your interest! -Oilers OZTs 41, SAAs due to OZTs 19, GA due to OZTs 3. -Canucks OZTs 13, SAAs due to turnovers 5, GA due to OZTs 0. The Oilers gave up 3 times as many OZTs and 3 goals due to them! Yep, Same Old, Same Old. Who were the bad actors: -5 OZTs - #2, 19, 21 -4 OZTs - #4 -3 OZTs - 15, 57, 83. Of the defenseman Belov was the only one without a OZT. One area of improvement I've seen from last year is 0 OZTs by Dubnyk in the first two (1 1/2 ) games. Last year he was bad.

Is coaching destroying our young stars moving forward ? Hall playing with Smyth and Hemsky ? Yak relegated to 3rd line with plummers ? Eberle with all new players ? J.Schultz ? None are fairing well and reverse development seems to be setting in . How successful has his line combo's been - not very good ? Time to spread the blame ?

Eakins should make Dubby watch the game he just played...........exactly when did "dropping and flopping", on every shot become a part of Dubby's game.

This reminds me of Tommy Salo.......the king of drop and flop! Stand up Dubby and play your angles. The idea of pucks deflecting causing goals is laughable. If you watch these re-plays Dubby is on the ice before the puck is even shot!

You might want to add coaching and management to that list if more results like last night occur very frequently . Did we really expect a green GM and coach to make much difference ? Hope is creeping out the backdoor rapidly .

it's beginning to get a little nauseating reading these comments. There used to be constructive debate and interesting insight, but now it's (for the most part) the same pessimistic commenters posting re-worded versions of the crap they've commented on every other article for the past 3 months.

Eakins is a new coach. His best player was out of position. He was missing his top 2 centers. Dubnyk is inexplicably playing worse than last year. We're two games in. Shut up with the negative crap, it's getting old. Come back if we're half a season in and in last place. Otherwise, go follow another sport.

Getting tired of the apologists. None of what you note explains the lousy effort last night.

Except they've telling the fans that since they drafted Hall 3 years ago, and rebuilding for the past 7 years!!! So what, should we have to wait another 7 years till the prospect from the 2014 crop matures? Well then Hall would be over the hill then, wouldn't he? And so goes the re-building cycles once again.

I'm gonna watch a leafs game. There's some big tough hombres on that team. While big tough hombres don't grow on trees, watching a leafs / canadiens game showed me two teams that go hard. We could use a Gallagher on this team to show them how to compete.

To the Yak haters, he threw some hits last night at least... The period I watched I noticed him. Hall has been a give away MACHINE the last couple games. But he'll settle down and be better. The good news is he'll never play centre again. Haha.

Finally, we're just 2 games off of .500 and while this month is likely to be more of the same, keep your chins up. Things get easier and with any luck some of the easier games in the middle of our schedule will set us up or a solid 2 GAME WINNING STREAK to balance out these two losses to start, though the Jets one really is a kick in the coconuts. :/

Second game against Canucks , Eakins got out coached and never made adjustments till to late to salvage game in third . Sometimes same game plans don't work out as expected against same teams as they adjust. Torts made adjustment from exhibition season and caught us flat footed . Made us look far worse than what we are . First game we blew , however with subpar goaltending as much as anything . Does not mean we are a contender , yet. but it was only one bad game and result . We need need coaches and players on their games not getting flat footed by other teams game plan .

How is Steve Smith still an assitant coach with the Oil? The defense is a perpetual letdown with this team and they never seem to improve. The only legitimate number 1 dman in the organization is Nurse but he's likely a couple of years away. The guys there right now just aren't good enough. Ferrence looks like a bad signing early in the season already.

Who said weak goals have no effects on the team?? Of course weak goals have effects on the team!

The argument is.....2 equal goalies play a season and face the EXACT same shots and let the EXACT same # of goals in. Goalie #1 lets no soft goals in, but make not insane saves. Goalie #2 make 20 highlight reel saves, but lets 20 soft ones in..........is one better than the other?

I don't think there is an easy answer on this and too would like a little Strudwick or Sutherby insight.